Manchester United were forced to wait to book a place in the Uefa Champions League last 16 as Michael Lang's last-gasp strike gave Basel a shock 1-0 win at St Jakob-Park on Wednesday.
Jose Mourinho's side were moments away from securing top spot in Group A when Lang pounced on sloppy defending to steal the points for second-placed Basel a minute before the end.
United hit the woodwork twice in a dominant first half, but they were outplayed after the interval and could have few complaints about Lang's dramatic winner.
United remain in first place and they just need to avoid losing by more than six goals at home to CSKA Moscow - three points behind Mourinho's men on nine and level with Basel - in their last fixture on December 5 to ensure their progress to the knockout stages.
Basel are also in the hunt heading into their last group game against Benfica, in which they just need to equal CSKA's result to qualify.
Mourinho will be especially frustrated by the defeat because it means he cannot afford to rest players against CSKA, just days before the Manchester derby.
"We lost because in the first half we should be 5-0 up but we could not score one goal after being so dominant," Mourinho said. "It looks for many periods in the first half it was impossible not to win.
"I think the majority of the second half the feeling of everyone was OK, it will be 0-0, but they got the late goal."
Mourinho made seven changes from the team that beat Newcastle 4-1 at the weekend, with Argentine defender Marcos Rojo making his first appearance since a suffering cruciate ligament injury in April.
Mourinho had expressed concern about the pitch at St Jakob-Park after it was replaced following heavy damage during Switzerland's recent World Cup play-off with Northern Ireland.
However, United did not seem bothered when they pieced together a sweeping move that almost brought an early opening goal.
Paul Pogba sliced through the Basel defence and found Romelu Lukaku, whose shot on the turn was well saved by Tomas Vaclik.
Moments later, the visitors went even closer when Marouane Fellaini's header was cleared off the line by Manuel Akanji.
Fellaini threatened again with another header that fizzed wide from Daley Blind's free-kick.
United were dominating possession without applying the finishing touch and Fellaini maintained that frustrating trend when the Belgian hit the post with a close-range header from Anthony Martial's cross.
Martial was denied by Vaclik at the end of a surging run before Rojo rattled the bar from long-range.
Having been penned back in the first half, Basel almost snatched the lead after the interval when Serey Die drilled just wide.
Suddenly unable to find any rhythm, United rode their luck again as Renato Steffen's powerful effort was narrowly off-target.
______________
Read more
Barca defend starting Messi on bench after draw enough to go to last 16
PSG star Neymar 'extraordinary' says Emery after record win over Celtic
[ Conte says Chelsea ready for Liverpool after handing Qarabag defeat ]
[ Griezmann inspires Atletico Madrid's Champions League fightback ]
______________
Mourinho sent on Nemanja Matic and Marcus Rashford, but United did not respond and Lang nearly made them pay by crashing a header against the bar.
That escape was the signal for United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic to come on in the 74th minute, for the second appearance since his return from a serious knee injury.
Die tried to steal the spotlight from the Swede with a 25-yard strike that drew a good stop from Sergio Romero.
Even Ibrahimovic could not help United stem the tide and Basel's pressure was finally rewarded in the 89th minute.
With United appealing in vain for offside, Raoul Petretta's measured pass found Lang and he tapped in at the far post to leave Mourinho cursing.
COMPANY PROFILE
Company: Eco Way
Started: December 2023
Founder: Ivan Kroshnyi
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Electric vehicles
Investors: Bootstrapped with undisclosed funding. Looking to raise funds from outside
Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes.
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com
What is tokenisation?
Tokenisation refers to the issuance of a blockchain token, which represents a virtually tradable real, tangible asset. A tokenised asset is easily transferable, offers good liquidity, returns and is easily traded on the secondary markets.
The Last White Man
Author: Mohsin Hamid
192 pages
Published by: Hamish Hamilton (UK), Riverhead Books (US)
Release date: out now in the US, August 11 (UK)
Bundesliga fixtures
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
The lowdown
Badla
Rating: 2.5/5
Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke
TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Ukraine v Portugal, Monday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Almouneer
Started: 2017
Founders: Dr Noha Khater and Rania Kadry
Based: Egypt
Number of staff: 120
Investment: Bootstrapped, with support from Insead and Egyptian government, seed round of
$3.6 million led by Global Ventures
Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
